Adetoun Exposes Dapo Abiodun’s Under-performance
His Excellency is in big trouble. This kind of trouble is like the one you get when you step on a column of soldier ants. They will crawl all over your body, stinging you all over, and no matter how hard you swat them, they keep pestering you.
This is the situation Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State seems to have found himself in on this Anthony Joshua matter. The very influential and fearless blogger, Adetoun made a serious statement on the back of the tragic incident, which saw a world boxing champion involved in a dastardly road accident.
Joshua’s accident cost him the lives of his two close buddies. His strained body was hoisted into a police truck and beamed worldwide, including on CNN and Sky News.
This was bad press for the governor and his state, but the most damaging was the sentence from Adetoun, who happens to be my friend and sister. “There is no ambulance in Ogun State,” she stated.
The statement was like a precision Tomahawk cruise missile, which hit dirt and threw Abiodun up as an underperforming governor.
Now here is where our leaders keep missing it. You get unserious advice from “party men” whom you have appointed instead of serious professionals to handle your strategic and crisis communications.
Instead of remaining silent and pushing for serious reforms in emergency handling and health response systems, the state government released a statement where they showed us hundreds of ambulances, accused Adetoun of criminal defamation, and literally questioned her credibility.
Immediately I saw the release, I just put my hands on my head and screamed
“Dapooo!” What kind of statement was that?. You have all of these ambulances, and not
even one was on sight during the accident. No single Ogun indigene has seen the ambulances in action? Abi na “AI” ambulance?
My people, Adetoun’s response was devastating. She abused the living daylight out of the governor, daring him, poking him and verbally slapping him.
She said she has handled over 100 cases in Ogun and has never seen a single ambulance. She even told us of how she used to call Sanwo-Olu to bring an ambulance to Ogun to help her and others, and dropped the clinger of how Abiodun once sent “Keke Marwa” to come and evacuate an accident victim.
My people, there is a reason President Bola Tinubu once called this person ‘Eleyi’, and that is what we are seeing as the man has carried his “eleyiness” to the world stage with Joshua’s sad accident.
Reports show that about 76 accidents have happened on that stretch in the last few months, and none of them have seen an ambulance. Kai, Dapo should have just kept quiet, I tell you.
Don Pedro Obaseki- Long Live the King
I have said it o, before they come to Shomolu and drag me out of a brothel, strip me naked and drag me on my knees to Bini to the Palace to dump me.
You know when I first saw the harrowing pictures of the respected Don Pedro in his undergarments, the first thing that came to my head was, what if it was me wey no dey wear underwear? Kai.
They said he had gone to London to deliver a speech and ended it with Edo people will live long instead of the King will live long.
The assault meted out to him was traumatic and shameful. But the real shame is on the Bini nation, from the very top to the bottom. For a society that was built on respect, hierarchy and strong traditions to descend to this point really beats me.
The Palace sent out a statement dissociating itself from the act but stopped short of arresting the “thugs” that we all saw with our “koro koro” eyes, making their statement look one kind.
Those people took Dr. Obaseki to the palace and handed him over to the palace chiefs in white. So, the palace must act out of honour, identify those people and hand them over to the authorities if we are to believe their position.
The Obaseki family have also come out in understandable anger and said that they would most likely pursue the legal route for justice.
My people, real fear is catching me o, if someone can be so treated for wishing his people long life, then make people like me that have “loose guard” mouth avoid Benin for now o because I cannot imagine being beaten up, stripped naked and dragged on my knees by a group of miscreants.
If this treatment can be meted out to a man like Dr. Obaseki, who has done so much for the Bini people culturally and comes from such an illustrious family, then imagine what they will do to a poor, Coca-Cola-drinking orphan who mistakenly says “Long live the people” instead of “Long live the King.” My relations with the Bini people are hereby suspended until justice is done to Dr. Obaseki.
Till then, make una no talk, call me for anything. I no get una power.
It’s On the March Again for Wike
For a man whose pretensions to power begin and end with Rivers State, I will say his confidence level na wa. This man can only speak in Rivers out of the 36 states, yet he carries around as if he is a kingmaker. The thing with our people is that we do not even know how to call people’s bluffs. If not that President Tinubu is overtly confident about his chances in 2027, why wouldn’t he call this one’s bluff, especially as his actions continue to negatively affect the image of the administration?
If he is not abusing a soldier or revoking C of Os on a whim, he is in Rivers declaring that every Rivers man must smell his fart to survive. This Wike is the best example of the collapse of our institutions, processes and strong electoral mores, or how can one man seek to determine the fate of millions, whether they like it or not? It’s now the norm in our society, and this is the main reason for voter apathy.
Today, Rivers’ people are not drinking water because of one man and his stooge, who is trying to be a man. They have beaten, humiliated, and suspended him, and he still came back only to defect and rightfully so. The ones who have a strong chain on his balls have said to him – sing all the “on your mandate we shall stand” that you can sing, you will still not make it.
Imagine the last disgrace for Fubara if, at the end of the day, he doesn’t get a second term, even after all this backside licking, and if we all know Wike’s trajectory very well, Fubara is toast. Simple.
Nigeria will definitely wake up one day, and, in this generation, I am 100% very sure of that, we will wake up. Thank you.
Dere Otubu’s Transaction and Party of the Year
At the end of last year, Dere oversaw a massive transaction that ran into billions. The Eko Disco transaction was one of the transformational transactions that marked the end of last year.
The transaction saw the change of ownership of what has been adjudged the biggest power distribution company in the country, and Dere, as former Chairman, was in the thick of it all, and this is why I made sure I secured the much sought-after invites to his annual end-of-year party
The Otubu’s end-of-year party is usually the party to end social activities in elite Nigeria, and invitations to the party are usually one of the most coveted in Nigeria.
Well, I asked, and Dere sent not only one invite but two. That is how I entered the Parkview venue of the party and straight into the bowels of corporate powers.
Dere Otubu has, for a long time, been a central figure in corporate Nigeria with a strong interest in such powerhouses as the aforementioned – Eko Disco, Zenith Bank and Access Bank, amongst others
Dere is one of those least talked about but significantly effective players who continue to contribute very robustly to our socio-economic development.
Many people are unaware that he is a Baba Aladura. Make me keep quiet on that side for now
Well done, my oga.
Peter Obi: A Very Dark Horse
I will be supporting Peter Obi this time around simply because I love to stand with the underdog. He is clearly the underdog in this story, not with all governors except three moving to APC, making the President as strong as ever. That is, if Donald Trump looks the other way and the electoral system and the judiciary remain at the status quo, you will agree that Mr. Obi is even worse than an underdog.
But as a romantic who loves fairy tales, there is nothing wrong with wishing for another David and Goliath story. Shebi you people know that I was once a Sunday school teacher in my father’s church in Shomolu, and one of my most favourite stories was the one where David used one stone to finish the giant Goliath.
What Obi will be facing is not just one Goliath but two. Yes o, Atiku is another internal Goliath. That one will not agree now for us to know how to move. He will now allow us to dissipate energy fighting him internally before going to face Nebuchadnezzar.
Anyway, the God that allowed us to defeat Goliath in Lagos is still alive and well, so there is hope. But if the inevitable occurs and we fail, then I think it’s time for a final retirement.
Let the games begin.
Hope Uzodimma: A Snub Too Much
I don’t really like this Baba. The other day, I decided to get his picture so that I could make a caricature of him for Maddtimes. That was how I was seated at the lounge in the famous Eko Hotel in Lagos, and he walked in. I immediately recognised him, you cannot miss his head; it was huge, but he was taller than what you see on TV and read on blogs. He had, as expected, his aides and security around him, and I was with my daughter Zara.
So, I decided to show my daughter that I know people too. I said to her that that is the governor of Imo State. Do you know him? You know as Gen Z, she did not have a clue. I said oya, follow me, let me go and greet him and then introduce you to him, so you meet your first-ever governor.
I thought I was dealing with Sanwo-Olu. Sanwo-Olu will not only greet you but will also grab your phone and help you take a better selfie. And if he is truly in a good mood, that is, if Tinubu has replied to his text, he will tell Michael to give you something.
But this one na real aje okuta ma mo mi. I stood from afar and said, “Your Excellency, may I approach?” like I have done for all dignitaries, even far bigger ones like President Jonathan and Obasanjo.
He should have just declined that distance, but then he said Come. I was happy and beckoned Zara to follow me.
I got close and said, “Your Excellency, can I take a picture with you and my
daughter?” and Ogbeni looked me up and down and said, “NO.”
Na two things pain me in this matter – the way he looked at me like I just came out of the cesspool, and the fact that I got this snub in front of my little daughter, who would no longer see me as a superstar.
Your Excellency, that snub really pain me o. Kai, if I were an Imo State indigene, I would have begged my whole village to declare you persona non grata.
Kai. Why na. Kai, I did not ask for a contract or review of that Supreme Court judgment. Na just picture o. See as you disgrace me. Kai.
Segun Awolowo: Honoured on Stage
Iconic Segun Awolowo has been buried in a flood of praises and tributes. Well, I decided to wait for my stage play on Chief Ebenezer Obey to do my own tribute.
I got his bosom friend, Otunba Bimbo Ashiru, the GMD of Odu’a Group, to speak glowingly about Segun in a backdrop of pictures, murals and caricatures of Segun in his work with us.
Otunba delivered one of the most inspirational tributes of all time. At some point, he broke down in tears as he spoke very warmly about Segun. The lights in the MUSON Hall went black as tears enveloped the over 400 people seated.
Segun was a very strong supporter of our work. He followed us to London, opened doors for us, and even put me on a federal government delegation to Dubai. Segun’s loss is Heaven’s gain, and that is what we will use to continually console the aburos that he has left behind. Rest well, egbon mi.
Lady Otitoju: From the Farm to the Great Beyond
Lady Otitoju is the late wife of media man and former ARISE TV analyst, Sir Kayode Otitoju. Sir Otitoju was also a former Commissioner of Information in Ekiti.
Lady Otitoju was a passionate farmer who had formed the Lekki Farms in Lekki, Lagos. Her entrepreneurial pursuit ran into some turbulence with some Lagos State institutions, and she relocated the farms to Ibadan.
One day, while on the farms, she suddenly felt dizzy and decided to drive herself to the hospital in Ibadan. According to Sir Otitoju, the hospital, in its bid to give her an intravenous solution, allegedly cut off her arteries, and she bled to death.
Mbok, what can be that painful? A woman driving herself to the hospital and now immediately becoming a statistic of what could go wrong in our healthcare delivery system.
For now, we will focus on giving her the best dignified funeral, and after that, we will face not only the authorities but also those who licensed them.
Sir Kayode, please remain strong. We are with you. Kai, very painful.
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